Sofiane Wins UltraLajkonik
Last year was a pretty special one in my career for both good and bad reasons. On the good side, my longest trip to date, 18,000 km (11,200 miles) spanning two continents, from Lisbon to the China-Russia border, in an attempt to set a new world record of the fastest crossing of Eurasia. On the bad side, 50 days in a Russian prison after entering the country illegally due to being denied legal entry and not finding it in me to give up on the record so close to the finish.
Almost a year after leaving from Lisbon for my World Record attempt and 8 months after being released from prison, last weekend, I lined up at the start of my first race of the season, the UltraLajkonik, after an invitation sent by my friend Marcin. I showed up in Poland not knowing exactly what my state of mind would be. I was facing the task of racing 500 km on gravel.
Needless to say, a year like the 2025 I had shakes you to your core and leaves you with very few things to be sure of. I had many questions: Would I feel the same joy I’ve always felt racing ultra? Would I find the same determination and focus? Would the memories of the hardship suffered in prison make it easier to overcome the unavoidable pains and doubts of ultra? Or would I discover that two months in jail had made me less willing to suffer?
In the hilly landscapes of southern Poland, not far from Krakaw, I raced to the best of my ability for more than 28 hours on a very demanding course. The elevation profile on my GPS listed a hundred climbs, many with gradients greater than 10%.
Right off the bat, I felt happy to be in a race again. I was glad to do battle with other competitors and feel that adrenalin boost. I wasn’t necessarily in the best possible shape, due to prioritizing fun on the bike since my release, rather than training high volume or high intensity. And the competition was there to push me and make sure it would not be easy to come out victorious. So, in order to get the win, I relied on ten years of bikepacking racing experience—doing what I do best: never stop. By not sleeping and resupplying only twice, I minimized my stopping time during the 28 hours that I needed to reach the finish to less than 30 minutes.
But more importantly, I enjoyed being in the race. I had no trouble finding and keeping my focus. I answered all the questions I had prior to setting off. Yes, I still have it in me to race ultra. I still find pleasure in it, and I’m still able to perform.
Ultralajkonik was the perfect event for my first outing since my unsuccessful record attempt and my time in prison. Because it was remote enough that I didn’t feel too much pressure, but hard enough that I represented a real test of character. I can now set bigger goals for myself and start training for them. And I can now say it officially and without a doubt: I’m back!
And for readers who like to keep track of those things, I rode my Bombtrack Hook EXT Ti. Tires were Rene Herse 700×44 Corkscrew Climb semi-slicks in the Endurance casing, inflated to 2 bar (29 psi).
Photo credits: Manuel Uribe
